Electric shaver having a motor driven endless chain of links each having a pluralityof blade elements



June 1, 1965 S. KAH ELECTRIC SHAVER HAVING A MOTOR DRIVEN ENDLESS C HAIN OF LINKS EACH HAVING A PLURALITY OF BLADE ELEMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 8, 1965 FIG.

INVENTOR SAMUEL KAHN ATTORNEY June 1, 1965 s. KAHN 3,186,087 ELECTRIC SHAVER HAVING A MOTOR DRIVEN ENDLESS CHAIN OF LINKS EACH HAVING A PLURALITY OF BLADE ELEMENTS Filed May a, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PIC-5.9

FIG.I4

INVENTOI? SAMUEL KAHN Br M ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,186,087 ELECTRIC SHAVER HAVING A MOTOR DRIVEN ENDLESS CHAIN OI" LINKS EACH HAVING A PLURALI'IY OI? BLADE ELEMENTS Samuel Kahn, 333 Grovers Ave, Bridgeport 5, (form. Filed May 8, 1963, Ser. No. 278,913 4 Claims. (Cl. Bill-43.1)

"belt, and while in operation, continuously presenting a chain of articulated links, each link including a plurality of blade elements, and motive means in a handle part of said shaver operatively connected to at least one of the rotary elements around which the endless belt or chain is trained.

The cutters are preferably integrally fabricated of a single sheet of metal and comprise a pair of longitudinally spaced lower end walls, a pair of laterally spaced longitudinal side walls, and a hook extending longitudinally outward from one lower end wall, for engagement in the next adjacent link. One run of the endless chain of cutters is yieldingly engageable with the underside of the shear plate, and means are provided for biasing the links toward the shear plate for maintaining the cutters in yielding engagement with said shear plate.

As is well known in the prior art, electric shavers generally require a handle part of appreciable bulk, and a shaving part fixedly associated with the handle part, usually at one end thereof. This conventional arrangement is often inconvenient and awkward in use, requiring deft operation of a user, and frequently obscuring or makingshadows in the precise area being shaved.

It is one object of this invention to provide a shaver construction which overcomes these difliculties and permits of easier and more convenient operation and manipulation by a user, enabling the handle part to be adjusted relative to the shaving part to facilitate shaving and obviate annoying shadows.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a unique and highly improved construction of continuous, rotary shearing head, which obviates the excessive vibration and wear inherent in conventional reciprooatory shearing-head motions, and admirably lends itself to economical mass production for sale at a reasonable price.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a material part of this disclosure.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope will be indicated by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal elevational View showing an electric shaver constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the shaver of FIGURE 1 and illustrating an alternative position in dot-and-dash outline.

altars? FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view, partly broken away, showing a shearing head in the shaving part of the instant shaver.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken line 6-6 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional elevational view taken generally along the line 77 of FIGURE 3, and somewhat enlarged.

FIGURE 8 is a plan view of the shearing head of the instant invention apart from the shaver, and broken away to illustrate the interior thereof.

FIGURE 9 is an elevational view of the shearing head, partly broken away.

FIGURE 10 is a partial view similar to FIGURE 8 but rawn to an enlarged scale and illustnating the cutters in greater detail.

FIGURE 11 is a plan view of cutters of the present invention in connected relation.

FIGURE 12 is an elevational view of a single cutter of the present invention.

FIGURE 13 is an end view of the cutter of FIGURE 12, taken from the right thereof.

FIGURE 14 is a fragmentary elevational view of a modified form of casing with the shaving part in closedotf relation against a vertical closure plate and drawn to a reduced scale.

FIGURE 15 is a side view of FIGURE 14 with the cutter head shown in phantom.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and specifically to FIGURES 1-3 thereof, an electric shaver is there generally designated 20, and includes a handle part 21, and a shaving part 22.

The handle part 21 may include an elongate, genenally fiat case 25 configured to be easily held in the hand of a user and containing suitable motive means, such as an electric motor or drive 38 (see FIG. 4). I

The shaving part 22 is disposed at one end of the handle part 21, the upper end as seen in FIGURE 1, and extends laterally thereacross. The shaving part includes a housing 26 and a shearing head 27 mounted in the housing 25 and exposed therefrom.

More specifically, the shaving-part housing may have one side open, say its front side having an opening 28, and the shearing head 27 is presented through the latter opening. On the top side of the shaving-part housing 26 there may be provided an access opening or cutout 29 affording access to the shearing head 27.

A hollow boss 3% may project from the housing 26 proximate to the upper end of handle part 21, as best seen in FIGURES l and 4. In the latter figure, it will be observed that a circular projection or connection member 31 of the shaving part 22 preferably integral with the housing 26, depends therefrom through an opening 32 in the upper end wall 33 of the handle-part flat case 25. The circular projection 31 may be provided with an external circumferential groove 34 removably receiving a retainer member 35, such as a split ring. In this manner, the shaving-part housing 26 is mounted on the upper end of the handle part 21' for rotative adjustment relative to the latter. Further, it will be observed that the circular projection 31 depends from the shaving part 22 adjacent to one end of the latter, and is mounted in the handle part 21 for rotation about an axis extending longitudinally of the handle partand laterally offset from the longitudinal center line thereof. By suitable fit, the shaving part 22 is frictionally held in any selected position of its rotative movement relative to the handle part 21. Thus, the shaving part 22 is rotatively adjustable to any selected position extending transversely of and projecting from the handle part 21, for a purpose appearing presently.

In FIGURE 4 may be seen a motive element or motor E33 having a shaft 39 projecting upward rotatably through generally along the an axial bore 40 formed in the projection 31. The shaft 39 is, therefore, coaxial with the axis of rotation of the shaving part 22; and, the motor shaft may be provided on its upper end interiorly of the shaving part with a drive gear 41.

Referring now to FIGURES 6-9, the shearing head 27 may include one or more open-ended, generally tubular housing members 44 which may be of generally rectangular or other suitable cross-sectional configuration. A pair of such tubular members are shown in the illustrated embodiment as arranged in side-by-side adjacent relation within the shaving-part housing 26.

More specifically, each tubular member includes a rear wall 45, a pair of side walls 46 extending forward from the rear wall, and a front wall or outer shear plate 47. The tubular members 44 are disposed in side-by-side relation with their rear walls 45 generally coplanar and may be fixedly secured together by a connecting plate 48 in facing engagement with and fixedly secured, as by rivets 49, to the rear walls of the adjacent members. The front walls or shear plates 47 of the members 44 may be substantially coplanar with each other and lie in a plane slightly forward of or beyond the front of the shavingpart housing 26. As best seen in FIGURES 8 and 9, the shear plate or front walls 47 are provided with a plurality of apertures or through openings 50 so as to define of the shear plate a grille-like wall.

In each tubular member 44, adjacent to opposite ends thereof, are rotatably mounted a pair of rotary elements, as at 52 and 53 in FIGURE 8. The rotary elements 52 and 53 within each member 44 are disposed generally horizontally in the upright condition of FIGURE 1, and mounted for rotation about spaced generally vertical axes, as by shafts 54 and 55, respectively. The shafts 54 and 55 may be suitably mounted, as in the side of the tubular member 44, the side walls being slotted, as at 56 for receiving the shaft 55, if desired. The rotary elements 52 may be freely rotatable and provide idler wheels, while a rotary element 53 may be toothed, as at 57, to define sprocket wheels. Further, the shaft 55 may project exteriorly of one member 44 and there be provided with a spur gear 58, see FIGURE 9. The spur gear 58 is located in meshing engagement with the drive gear 41, see FIG- URE 4, and is driven by the latter gear to effect positive rotation of the sprocket wheels 53.

Located in each tubular member 44 extending between the rotary elements 52 and 53 thereof and spaced from the rear wall 45 and shear plate 47, is a support member 60. Each support member 60 may include a body 61 having on one side a longitudinally extending groove or track 62 facing toward and spaced from the inner face of the adjacent shear plate 47. The rear side of the body 61 may be cut away, as at 63; and, a rod or pin 64 may extend transversely through the adjacent members 44, being fixedly secured in the side walls 46 and received in the cutouts 63 of the support bodies 61. Resilient means, such as a leaf spring 65 may be received in the cutout 63 of each support body 61, being formed with a medial clip portion 66 adapted for snap engagement about the forward side of the pins 64, and having its end regions 67 extending into forwardly biasing engagement with the support body 61.

Also located in each member 44 are a plurality of inner cutters 7 9 arranged in end-to-end relation articulately connected together in a closed path and trained about the associated pair of rotary elements 52 and 53. The chain of inner cutters 70 thus passes about the wheels 52 and 53 on the forward side of the support 69 in the track 62, and rearwardly thereof adjacent to, but spaced apart from, the rear wall 45. The support 60 serves to engage the forward run of the inner cutters 70 and maintain the latter in a resilient, shearing engagement with the inner face of shear plate 47 upon movement of the inner cutters about .their endless path. By this action, the inner cutters are always maintained in proper shearing relation with the shear plate, and self-sharpening of the cutters is automatically effected.

The inner cutters 70 are all identical to each other, and the structure thereof may best be observed in FIGURES 10-13. Each inner cutter may advantageously be integrally formed, as by stamping or other high-speed process, say from a single integral sheet of metal. As formed, each cutter may include a pair of generally fiat, coplanar lower end walls 71 and 72, the former being forward and the latter rearward, in the direction of rotation of the arrows 73. A pair of laterally spaced side walls 74 upstand integrally from opposite ends of the lower end walls 71 and 72, each side wall extending between the end Walls. A connection element or hook 75 may extend from one of the lower end walls, say the rear end wall 72, with its hook extending generally upwardly. There may be a plurality of blade elements 76 projecting laterally from the upper edges of the side walls 74, say laterally outward as illustrated in FIGURES 12 and 13. It will thus now be appreciated that each inner cutter 70 defines a generally rectangular, open link, with the connection member or book 75 of each inner cutter engaged upward through the opening 78 against the rear edge of the end wall 71 of the next rearward inner cutter. To facilitate the maintenance of coplanarity of the inner cutters 7 0 during their movement along the forward track 62 of support 60, the forward lower end wall may be slightly raised above the level of the rearward lower end wall for receiving therebeneath the hook 75 of the adjacent forward inner cutter.

As best seen in FIGURE 10, the sprocket teeth 57 engage in the openings 7 8 of the inner cutters 70, and rotation of the sprocket thereby effects movement of the inner cutters about its closed path. Also, the resilient element 65 urges the support 60 forward toward the shear plate 47 to maintain the blades 76 in proper shearing relation with the shear plate during movement of the inner cutters about their closed path.

As the shaving part 22 is rotatively adjustable relative to the handle part 21 about the projection 31, and as the motor drive shaft 39 and its gear 41 are coaxial with the projection 31, it will be appreciated that the driven gear 58 is in meshing engagemment with the drive gear at any selected position of rotative shaving part adjustment, permitting operation of the inner cutters 70 with the shaving part in any desired position.

Retaining the shearing head 27 in position within the shaving-part housing 26 may be an eye or catch 80 projecting rearward from the tubular members 44 through and beyond a rear opening 81 in the housing 26, see FIGURES 3, 5 and 6. The eye or catch 80 may be formed of the plate 48 and bent out of the plane thereof, and has an opening 801:. A latch or hook 82 may be pivotally mounted, as by a pin 83 externally on the rear side of the shaving-part housing 26 for removable retaining engagement through the catch 8%. A finger piece 84 may be provided on the latch to facilitate swinging of the latter about its pivotal mount 83, as between the solid and phantom positions shown in FIGURE 3.

Thus, with the latch 82 in the solid-line positions of FIGURES 3 and 6, the shearing head 27 is positively retained in position within the shaving-part housing 26. However, upon swinging of the latch 82 to its phantom position, see FIGURE 3, the shearing head 27 is released for forward withdrawal from the shaving-part housing 26 through its front opening 28.

As stated above, the shaving part 22 may be rotatively adjustable relative to handle part 21 about the projection 31. Thus, when the shaving part 22 is not in operation, it may be swung, as best seen in FIGURES 14 and 15, to present the otherwise open face of shaving head 27 against the upstanding backplate or fence 33b, which is integral with handle part 21, thus to shield and protect the shaving head during non-use.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the present invention provides an electric-shaver construction which fully accomplishes its intended objects and is well adapted to meet practical conditions of manufacture and use.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An electric shaver comprising a handle part, a shaving part on said handle part, and a shearing head carried by said shaving part and exposed therethrough, said shearing head comprising an apertured shear plate mounted in said shaving part and having one side exposed from said shaving part, spaced rotary elements mounted in said shaving part on the other side of said shear plate for rotation about axes generally parallel to said shear plate, a plurality of inner cutters arranged in end-to-end articulately connected relation to define an endless chain, and trained about said rotary elements in an endless path having one run adjacent to and in shearing relation with said shear plate, said inner cutters being movable along said path upon rotation of said rotary elements, and motive means in said handle part and operatively connected to at least one of said rotary elements for rotating the same, said inner cutters each comprising an open link, a hook extending from one end of said link engagement in the next adjacent inner cutter, and blade elements carried by said links for movement in said shearing relation, said inner cutters each being integrally fabricated of a single sheet of metal and comprising a pair of longitudinally spaced lower end walls, a pair of laterally spaced longitudinal side walls each extending between and upstanding from said lower end walls, said hook extending longitudinally outward from one lower end wall, and said blades extending laterally from the upper edges of said side walls.

2. An electric shaver comprising a handle part, a shaving part on said handle part, and a shearing head carried by said shaving part and exposed therethrough, said shearing head comprising an apertured shear plate mounted in said shaving part and having one side exposed from said shaving part, spaced rotary elements mounted in said shaving part on the other side of said shear plate for rotation about axes generally parallel to said shear plate, a plurality of inner cutters arranged in end-to-end articulately connected relation to define an endless chain, and trained about said rotary elements in an endless path having one run adjacent to and in shearing relation with said shear plate, said inner cutters being movable along said path upon rotation of said rotary elements, and motive means in said handle part and operatively connected to at least one of said rotary elements for rotating the same, and a support member in said shaving part extending between said rotary elements along said one run of said path and engageable with inner cutters along said one run, and means biasing said links toward said shear plate for maintaining said inner cutters along said one run in yielding engagement with said shear plate.

3. An electric shaver comprising a handle part, a shaving part on said handle part, and a shearing head carried by said shaving part and exposed therethrough, said shearing head comprising an apertured shear plate mounted in said shaving part and having one side exposed from said shaving part, spaced rotary elements mounted in said shaving part on the other side of said shear plate for rotation about axes generally parallel to said shear plate, a plurality of inner cutters arranged in end-to-end articulately connected relation to define an endless chain, and trained about said rotary elements in an endless path having one run adjacent to and in shearing relation with said shear plate, said inner cutters being movable along said path upon rotation of said rotary elements, and motive means in said handle part and operatively connected to at least one of said rotary elements for rotating the same, said shaving part being located at one end of said handle part generally coplanar therewith, and mounting means mounting said shaving part on said handle part for rotative adjustment about a longitudinal axis of said handle part to a selected position transverse of the latter part.

4. An electric shaver according to claim 3, said shear plate being exposed through said shaving part on one side of said handle part, said rotary elements being rotatable about axes generally longitudinally of said handle part, and drive means operatively connected between said motive means and said rotary elements for driving the latter,

said drive means including a drive gear carried by said handle part coaxially with the axis of rotation of said mounting means, and a driven gear carried by said shaving part and meshing with said drive gear.

Reterences Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 1/62 Denmark.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner. 

1. AN ELECTRIC SHAVER COMPRISING A HANDLE PART, A SHAVING PART OIN SAID HANDLE PART, AND A SHEARING HEAD CARRIED BY SAID SHAVING PART AND EXPOSED THERETHROUGH, SAID SHEARING HEAD COMPRISING AN APERTURED SHEAR PLATE MOUNTED IN SAID SHAVING PART AND HAVING ANE SIDE EXPOSED FROM SAID SHAVING PART, SPACED ROTARY ELEMENTS MOUNTED IN SAID SHAVING PART ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID SHEAR PLATE FOR ROTATION ABOUT AXES GENERALLY PARALLEL TO SAID SHEAR PLATE, A PLURALITY OF INNER CUTTERS ARRANGED IN END-TO-END ARTICULATELY CONNECTED RELATION TO DEFINE AND ENDLESS CHAIN, AND TRAINED ABOUT SAID ROTARY ELEMENTS IN AN ENDLESS PATH HAVING ONE RUN ADJACENT TO AND IN SHEARING RELATION WITH SAID SHEAR PLATE, SAID INNER CUTTERS BEING MOVABLE ALONG SAID PATH UPON ROTATION OF SAID ROTARY ELEMENMTS, AND MOTIVE MEANS IN SAID HANDLE PART AND OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO AT LEAST ONE OF SAID ROTARY ELEMENTS FOR ROTATING THE SAME, SAID INNER CUTTERS EACH COMPRISING AN OPEN LINK, A HOOK EXTENDING FROM ONE END OF SAID LINK ENGAGEMENT IN THE NEXT ADJACENT INNER CUTTER, AND BLADE ELEMENTS CARRIED BY SAID LINKS FOR MOVEMENT IN SAID SHEARING RELATION, SAID INNER CUTTERS EACH BEIN INTEGRALLY FABRICATED OF A SINGLE SHEET OF METAL AND COMPRISING A PAIR OF LONGITUDINAL SPACED LOWER END WALLS, A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED LONGITUDINAL SIDE WALLS EACH EXTENDING BETEEN AND UPSTANDING FROM SAID LOWER END WALLS, SAID HOOK EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OUTWARD FROM ONE LOWER END WALL, AND SAID BLADES EXTENDING LATERALLY FROM THE UPPER EDGES OF SAID SIDE WALLS. 